eAs of August 29, 2003

'Inconsistent,' outdated tax laws bug importers

CEBU -- Inconsistencies in the Tariff Code are making life difficult for importers, according to an official from an influential business group.

"The whole Tariff Code has been amended partially, and some conflict with other parts of the Code," said Oscar Brillo, chairman of Customs affairs of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on the sidelines of a forum on trade and tariff policy at Sacred Heart Center last Tuesday.

He cited the law on abandoned cargoes.

When one imports something, he must file an import declaration form within 30 days of the cargo's arrival. If this declaration is not filed in 30 days, the cargo is deemed the property of the government "ipso facto," which means "by the mere fact that you didn't file," he told Sun.Star.

But another part of the Code says the cargo will be deemed property of the government "upon due notice."

This means the Bureau of Customs will first have to notify the importer that the cargo will become government property and give the importer the chance to explain why he was not able to file on time.

As a result of this contradiction, "there is a variance in the implementation" of the action on the abandoned cargo.

Brillo, a lawyer, also cited the case of a discrepancy between the Customs duties paid and what should be paid "due to misdeclaration."

If the discrepancy is more than 30 percent, there is a presumption of fraud. And at a hearing to be called, the importer must prove that there is no fraud.

However, another part of the Code says that "ipso facto," by the mere fact that there is a discrepancy, the goods become government property.

Besides these, Brillo said importers now have to contend with additional documentary requirements as well.

He said a Certificate of Origin was now being required this year for all imports, whereas before, this was required only for goods coming from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Under the Asean Free Trade Area or Afta, goods coming from within Asean get preferential tariffs. A product is eligible for concessions if it is an Asean product, that is, it satisfies the 40 percent local content requirement.

Asean groups the Philippines, Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.

Brillo also said there were Customs laws, and rules and regulations implementing them that, under the present environment, were already "irrelevant."

For instance, he said it was no longer practical to limit the entry of baggage and personal effects of arriving international passengers to the amount of P10,000.

"One TV is already P12,000!" he said. "P10,000 is probably just the value of what you brought out." CTL